Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Painting with Amos
Before Christmas, I was forced to take some time off...that is my least favorite part of the season every year. It is always a nice treat to sit around for the first few days; then I start to get antsy and want to do some sort of activity. Luckily, the 2 weeks went by fast as I was busy around the house doing some painting and cleaning with the help of my trusty sidekick, Jeff's dog Amos. To be truthful, Amos is a 14 year old brittany spaniel and wasn't much help with either task. But his moral support, aka peaceful snoring, was quite reassuring while I was painting the entryway, kitchen, and dining room various shades from a soft muted gray to a tangy mustard, and subdued wine shade. While I fussed and fretted about the color and my lack of skills, it was a calming influence to watch the old guy just sleeping away the day on the couch. During the cleaning, Amos was a bit more active following me from room to room as I struggled with the steam cleaner he would jump out of the way at the last second. Finally, he tired of the cleaning too and retired to snore away on the couch. But Amos wasn't so happy when I waxed our hardwood floors. The poor guy sleeps there sometimes and now has trouble getting all his feet under him; just as one foots starts to get purchase and the rest will slip out so he'll fall back onto his stomach with all four feet in the air. Between our chores, Amos and I take long walks, and I get to pick up all his little packages. But I can't complain; it has been a treat to have a companion to help keep me entertained and make the 2 weeks of rest go by faster. I need to get a picture of my favorite helper up on the blog...I'll see if I can find a glamour shot from his younger days.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Some Pictures from last season
Team Pictures in Australia
Team Pictures in Hawaii
More Team Pictures ....
Dad, Jeff, and I in the Chicago Bean
Team Pictures in Hawaii
More Team Pictures ....
Dad, Jeff, and I in the Chicago Bean
Fashion Icon is Born
Who needs shoelaces when you can use medical tape to keep your shoes on securely? There is actually a good story to go with this one.
Photo credit needs to be given to Jeff Cloutier Not only for his expert skills but ability to remain cool and calm in the face of a distressed subject.
Twas the night before US Nationals in 2006, my first ITU race and only my 5th triathlon ever and 2nd as a pro. In other words, I was scared shitless and very high stress. I was getting my race shoes ready to go and those quick laces all set...my first pair. I trimmed the laces down to get them perfect only to realize that they were a bit too short and my racing flats were too tight to pull on. 8pm at night in Long Beach California there were no quick laces or even shoelaces to be found. To overcome my stupidity, I ended up taking the laces out of my trainers to use in my racing flats, and they worked out fine. But in the meantime, I wanted to still use my trainers to walk around before/after the race...hence my new fashion statement with the tape. I patented this new shoe system and am waiting for it to really take off in the fashion world then my ship will come in....But in the interim I guess I will have to scrap by as a toiling athlete.
Photo credit needs to be given to Jeff Cloutier Not only for his expert skills but ability to remain cool and calm in the face of a distressed subject.
Twas the night before US Nationals in 2006, my first ITU race and only my 5th triathlon ever and 2nd as a pro. In other words, I was scared shitless and very high stress. I was getting my race shoes ready to go and those quick laces all set...my first pair. I trimmed the laces down to get them perfect only to realize that they were a bit too short and my racing flats were too tight to pull on. 8pm at night in Long Beach California there were no quick laces or even shoelaces to be found. To overcome my stupidity, I ended up taking the laces out of my trainers to use in my racing flats, and they worked out fine. But in the meantime, I wanted to still use my trainers to walk around before/after the race...hence my new fashion statement with the tape. I patented this new shoe system and am waiting for it to really take off in the fashion world then my ship will come in....But in the interim I guess I will have to scrap by as a toiling athlete.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Locked Down in Israel
My last race wasn’t all that I hoped for…in fact it was a big disappointment in my book. The biggest downer is that my running improvements that I have worked so hard to achieve in my training were not reflected in the run. I exited transition strong and got out to a great start but faded fast. I was passed by almost 30 people on the run falling from 5th place to 35th. Mentally watching that many girls blow by me was difficult since my wasted legs had no response. I am not sure if I biked too hard pulling for to much of the 40K course or if the fighting on the first portion of the swim had any effect. Regardless of the cause, my run was four minutes off where it needs to be next year. I have a lot to work on in the off-season and look forward to getting my running form back on track.
Israel takes its security to a different level imagine having all your bags unpacked in front of you. I am not exaggerating my carry-on, checked bag, and bike were unpacked completely. Every item was removed as they x-rays and swabbed each and every item. My items were splayed and dumped everywhere....my bike and wheels riped from the case to be x-rayed separately….. But on top of this psychical examination, you are also grilled verbally about your trip details the whys wheres and asked the same question in 3 different ways to try to catch you in a slip. It is this intense interrogation and invasion that makes the US airport security a breeze in comparison. We went through security within Israel 3 times, and it was intense every time. It is normal to spend an hour or more being cleared through security before you can even get in line for your boarding pass.
On Sunday after the race, Jillian and I miscalculated and were short on time; we only arrived to check in 1 hour and 45 minutes before our International departure. As our bags were unpacked and prodded and analyzed by 8 security agents, we were stressed about making our flight. The delta manager came over to say we were tight on time, and it wouldn't be their fault if we missed the flight. After an hour and 5 minutes, we were repacked and cleared to finish checking in. As we arrived at the counter with 45 minutes to spare, we were treated to the Delta manager telling us that we could board the plane only if we both had $100 in cash to pay for our bikes. Most airlines don't assess this fee on international flights especially since our bikes were well under the weight restrictions, at 36 lbs for mine. We scrambled for cash but could only come up with just over $30 each. Jillian and I offered her travelers checks or credit cards or to sprint to the atm. I am not ashamed to say that we begged her to please have some pity on us, and please let us on the flight. Coldly, the Delta manager ignored us and walked away...not even offering to help us get re-booked on the next day's flight or any advice on how we should get home from Tel Aviv. It was 10:50pm, and we still had 40 minutes until our flight was due to take off. The Delta desk was unmanned and would not have any agent there until the next night at 8pm.
We tracked down the Delta number in the states, and with the help of moms working on the problem from US phones were able to get re-booked on a flight 12 hours later at 10:40 am the next morning.
I understand that we were at fault but the Delta manager’s complete lack of compassion for our situation and unwillingness to assist in any way was downright evil. . Yes we should have arrived sooner, but the lack of empathy to assist us when we had time to still make the plane was appalling.
After spending 20 hours in the Tel Aviv airport, we were so slap happy and silly that everything was amusing. Since the Thursday night before the race until Sunday night, I had a total of 12 hours sleep. Not enough considering that I normally get 8 to 10 hours a night. Finally, we got on the flight headed home. Sadly for me, we arrived at JFK late. After clearing passport control, waiting for my bike and bag to arrive, and clearing customs, it was already past the take-off time for my scheduled flight. I was re-booked for the next morning to arrive home at 11am the next day and given a hotel room for the night - yay finally a chance to shower! Sadly, the luck didn't last; I was called later that night by Delta to let me know that the flight I was rescheduled on the next morning was cancelled. Now, I would leave in the morning and fly to Atlanta then fly to Denver arriving at 4pm. Wow, this is turning into the never-ending trip: I left Eilat at 12pm on Sunday or 3am Sunday morning MST. When I get home tomorrow afternoon, I will have been traveling for 62 or more hours.....
Israel takes its security to a different level imagine having all your bags unpacked in front of you. I am not exaggerating my carry-on, checked bag, and bike were unpacked completely. Every item was removed as they x-rays and swabbed each and every item. My items were splayed and dumped everywhere....my bike and wheels riped from the case to be x-rayed separately….. But on top of this psychical examination, you are also grilled verbally about your trip details the whys wheres and asked the same question in 3 different ways to try to catch you in a slip. It is this intense interrogation and invasion that makes the US airport security a breeze in comparison. We went through security within Israel 3 times, and it was intense every time. It is normal to spend an hour or more being cleared through security before you can even get in line for your boarding pass.
On Sunday after the race, Jillian and I miscalculated and were short on time; we only arrived to check in 1 hour and 45 minutes before our International departure. As our bags were unpacked and prodded and analyzed by 8 security agents, we were stressed about making our flight. The delta manager came over to say we were tight on time, and it wouldn't be their fault if we missed the flight. After an hour and 5 minutes, we were repacked and cleared to finish checking in. As we arrived at the counter with 45 minutes to spare, we were treated to the Delta manager telling us that we could board the plane only if we both had $100 in cash to pay for our bikes. Most airlines don't assess this fee on international flights especially since our bikes were well under the weight restrictions, at 36 lbs for mine. We scrambled for cash but could only come up with just over $30 each. Jillian and I offered her travelers checks or credit cards or to sprint to the atm. I am not ashamed to say that we begged her to please have some pity on us, and please let us on the flight. Coldly, the Delta manager ignored us and walked away...not even offering to help us get re-booked on the next day's flight or any advice on how we should get home from Tel Aviv. It was 10:50pm, and we still had 40 minutes until our flight was due to take off. The Delta desk was unmanned and would not have any agent there until the next night at 8pm.
We tracked down the Delta number in the states, and with the help of moms working on the problem from US phones were able to get re-booked on a flight 12 hours later at 10:40 am the next morning.
I understand that we were at fault but the Delta manager’s complete lack of compassion for our situation and unwillingness to assist in any way was downright evil. . Yes we should have arrived sooner, but the lack of empathy to assist us when we had time to still make the plane was appalling.
After spending 20 hours in the Tel Aviv airport, we were so slap happy and silly that everything was amusing. Since the Thursday night before the race until Sunday night, I had a total of 12 hours sleep. Not enough considering that I normally get 8 to 10 hours a night. Finally, we got on the flight headed home. Sadly for me, we arrived at JFK late. After clearing passport control, waiting for my bike and bag to arrive, and clearing customs, it was already past the take-off time for my scheduled flight. I was re-booked for the next morning to arrive home at 11am the next day and given a hotel room for the night - yay finally a chance to shower! Sadly, the luck didn't last; I was called later that night by Delta to let me know that the flight I was rescheduled on the next morning was cancelled. Now, I would leave in the morning and fly to Atlanta then fly to Denver arriving at 4pm. Wow, this is turning into the never-ending trip: I left Eilat at 12pm on Sunday or 3am Sunday morning MST. When I get home tomorrow afternoon, I will have been traveling for 62 or more hours.....
First & Last Duathlon
An oil spill in the SF bay made the Treasure Island race into a duathlon. It was my first ever and hopefully my last. The race showed me that I still have many more improvements to make on my running speed and fitness. I started out the first run well but faded after the first half mile. As a result, I ended up in no-mans land. I was forced to ride the entire 40 K on my own, which is not ideal for a drafting race but preferred to staying with a pack that expects me to do all the work. In the future, I'd like to go back and race Treasure Island on the real course when we are able to swim as well as run and bike. On the plus side, the trip was a very fun. Jeff was able to take some time off and come with me. We stayed with friends and had a nice time enjoying Marin county for a few days after the race. It is such an amazing place to ride and run; I look forward to visiting again soon.
Kona Camp
Despite my burned out body & mind, the Kona camp was perfect. Exactly what I needed to get in some great quality training with teammates, Abi & Vin, along with Siri & Nicky. I was able to spend almost three weeks in Hawaii. I saw some great improvements in my run and definitely left the camp feeling more fit and excited to finish my season.
Kona is an amazing town and a great place for an iron man. We spent time riding and running on parts of the iron man course, and it gave me renewed respect for those athletes. I hope that I have a chance to train in Hawaii again and especially enjoyed training with teammates who were able to push me on the bike and run.
Kona is an amazing town and a great place for an iron man. We spent time riding and running on parts of the iron man course, and it gave me renewed respect for those athletes. I hope that I have a chance to train in Hawaii again and especially enjoyed training with teammates who were able to push me on the bike and run.
Dallas
The weekend after returning home from Greece I headed to Dallas for a non-drafting race. I was eager for redemption after the upsetting turn of events at that race. And it was a great bonus to have a high school friend living outside Dallas; it was great to have a place to stay and have the opportunity to catch up with her & her husband.
The race didn't go badly but wasn't great either. The swim was not my best; I had chance to go for it and try to bridge the gap or be comfortable in my pack. I choose to be comfortable instead of really giving it that extra effort to chase the leader. It was a costly mistake in retrospect since I really needed to get every second that I could on the swim to get ahead for the run. The bike was a good effort not spectacular but not bad. I passed several people and came into transition in 3rd with the 4th place right at my heels. The run was typical of this season steady but not fast. I slide from 4th exiting transition to 7th. After this race, I felt very drained and part of me really wants to end my season right now. But after the bad luck in the last three world cups I'd like to end on a good note. In retrospect, I should have planned a week or several days completely off in September or this week after Dallas to recharge physically and mentally. But instead here I am surging on with the training and flying out to camp in Kona for the next 3 weeks.
The race didn't go badly but wasn't great either. The swim was not my best; I had chance to go for it and try to bridge the gap or be comfortable in my pack. I choose to be comfortable instead of really giving it that extra effort to chase the leader. It was a costly mistake in retrospect since I really needed to get every second that I could on the swim to get ahead for the run. The bike was a good effort not spectacular but not bad. I passed several people and came into transition in 3rd with the 4th place right at my heels. The run was typical of this season steady but not fast. I slide from 4th exiting transition to 7th. After this race, I felt very drained and part of me really wants to end my season right now. But after the bad luck in the last three world cups I'd like to end on a good note. In retrospect, I should have planned a week or several days completely off in September or this week after Dallas to recharge physically and mentally. But instead here I am surging on with the training and flying out to camp in Kona for the next 3 weeks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
